Strike Called by GGEA – Govt Warns ‘No Work No Pay’

‘No work no pay’ will apply to proposed strike by Goa Govt. employees, warns Govt.

Taking a serious view of the strike called by the Goa Government Employees Association (GGEA) for pen-down-tool-down strike on Monday, the Goa government on Friday warned that all the employees who participate in this illegal strike or found not discharging their assigned duties during the strike period, shall be treated as absent.

The principle of “no work no pay” will be invoked in all such cases of unauthorized absence and the action will be taken as per Rules, warned a spokesperson of Goa government in Panaji on Friday.

The GGEA has announced a pen-down token strike as part of its protests over government’s failure to implement promise of “to remove anomalies and bring parity in pay scales of all State employees after the implementation of the VI Pay Commission scales.”

A spokesperson of the government has said that “GGEA is agitating seeking parity in the pay scales to various sections of the government employees on unsustainable grounds of providing similar benefits to other employees where parity of pay scale was given.”

GGEA has objected giving parity to a few categories of employees and requested that other categories also get such benefits.

The spokesperson further said that Government of India has already announced the constitution of VIIth Pay Commission and any anomalies in pay scale and other benefits will be examined and considered after receipt of the recommendations of the VIIth Pay Commission. Government assured all employees that all their legitimate the demand will be given due consideration.

Further report from Our Correspondent:

The face-off between Goa government and Goa Government employees Association(GGEA), body representing State employees poised to escalate further on Friday as the president of GGEA accused the State government of “misguiding people through its circular.”

Earlier in the day, the State government issued a circular warning employees to refrain from going on token pen-down strike amidst on-going monsoon session of the State Legislative Assembly, and further warned that those who participate in the ‘illegal strike’ or found not discharging their assigned duties during the strike period, shall be treated as absent.

What president of GGEA M. L. Shetkar strongly object to is the contention of the circular that GGEA had objected giving parity to a few categories of employees.

In a press release issued on Friday evening, he said the bitter truth is that the Goa government has upgraded pay scales of about 44 selected categories in addition to VIth Pay Commission Recommended Scales. The Pay Commissions prescribe new pay scales corresponding to the old pay commission pay scales, whereas after implementation of

VIth Pay Commission Pay Scales, Goa has upgraded pay scales of 44 categories of employees in addition to VIth Pay and thus GGEA is justified to demand higher pay scales to the other categories whose pay scales are not upgraded.

He charged the State government of creating a disparity amongst the employees and the only solution left for the government is to upgrade the pay scales of the other left out categories as was earlier done in the year 1996.

He also rejected the claim of the government that implementation of Pay Commission Recommendation has been done in toto. he disclosed that the State government had agreed to GGEA’s proposal to upgrade all the Pay Scales on the pattern of the Secretariat and other employees with effect from 1.1.1995 and notionally from July 1987.

“The circular misleads the government employees and people by referring the demand as anomalies in Pay Scales arising out of application of Pay Commission, but it is created by the State government by selective pay upgradation granted to the 44 categories in addition to VIth Pay”, said Mr. Shetkar.

GGEA has been demanding to settle the demand well before the March budget session and the Chief Minister had assured GGEA twice to settle the demand two years back, he said reiterating his appeal to government employees to observe Pen-down-tool-down strike on Monday.